


vegan

by cautiouslyoptimistic



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 07:24:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12360555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cautiouslyoptimistic/pseuds/cautiouslyoptimistic
Summary: lena and maggie really don't get along and it's driving kara mador, kara’s idea doesn’t go as well as she’d like but better than she hoped





	vegan

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: no vegans were harmed while writing this

It seemed a pretty swell idea when she came up with it, drunk on alien ale and feeling warm and happy and in love with everyone. Winn had made an odd comment about Alex not liking Lena, hurriedly attempting to fix his mistake by shrugging and claiming it was okay because Kara wasn’t all that fond of Maggie. And Kara—offended, drunk, and determined to prove Winn wrong—had slammed her fists on the table, ignoring the disapproving look M’gann shot her way in response, and spoke without thinking. 

“We get along  _great_ ,” she slurred, giggling when Alex nodded vigorously and leaned heavily against her shoulder. “We can  _prove_ it.”

“Oh yeah?” Winn asked, looking a little like he regretted remaining sober for the night. “And how would you do that?” 

“A double date!” Kara cried, ignoring James’s laughter and Alex’s groans. “It would be  _amazing_. We’ll get drinks and dinner and all those things humans do—”

“Come on, Kara, your  _secret_ —” Winn unsuccessfully tried to cut in.

“—and when it’s all done Alex will love Lena and I’ll love Maggie and we’ll live happily ever after,” Kara continued happily, glad to see that Alex was nodding along in agreement. James and Winn didn’t seem as convinced. 

“You already do love Maggie,” James pointed out slowly, astonishingly clear despite the many,  _many_  drinks he’d consumed. “You love her because Alex loves her. But you don’t  _like_ her.”

“I like her just fine,” Kara argued, wondering if her protest really sounded as weak as it did to her own ears.

“It’s okay, Kara. It’s not like Alex likes Lena,” Winn said, sounding distracted as he thoughtfully looked over at the bar. M’gann’s eyes narrowed, and Kara watched her shake her head, looking doubly unimpressed. Winn sighed and slouched against the table, staring at James’s drink with a longing expression.

“I like Lena,” Alex supplied, after at least a full minute of silence. She shuffled, pressing her head into Kara’s shoulder, the same annoyed expression she always got when dealing with Kara being ‘stupidly hard’ appearing on her face. “I do, but—”

“Alex said but!” Winn shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “I was right! I was  _right_!” 

“I don’t think this is something you want to be right about, man,” James offered slowly, tipping his head back and draining the last of his drink. 

“I don’t like any of you,” Kara declared, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest, ignoring Alex’s grunt of disapproval at the movement that jostled her head. “In fact, you’re uninvited. No more alien bar for you.”

“You can’t do that,” Winn said.

Kara rolled her eyes and shook her head, staring at Winn as she spoke. “M’gann?” she called.

“She can do that,” M’gann shouted back without even looking their way. Kara grinned victoriously while Winn sighed, more put out than before. 

“You can threaten to kick us out of the bar,” he said petulantly, “and you’re too nice to not like Maggie and you might even manage to get Alex to like Lena. But there’s no way Maggie and Lena will get along.” 

“Is that a  _challenge_?” Kara asked, leaning forward, her nose only inches from Winn’s, her finger in his face. He swallowed nervously, but nodded.

“It is.”

“You’re on,” Kara said, slamming her fists against the table, cracking it right down the middle. 

From the bar, M’gann let out a loud groan and wearily pointed behind her to the tip jar with the words ‘Kara’s Damage Fund’ written across the label. 

 

x

 

Kara smiled softly into her thermos of coffee, her eyes fixed on the red and orange and yellow leaves scattered on the ground, rustling with each gust of wind. The air was chilly enough that its nip made passersby pull their coats tighter around themselves, tugging the sleeves of the sweaters lower in order to keep their fingers warm. 

(She loved the changing of seasons—it was one thing she found she loved more about Earth than Krypton, where the world seemed too crafted, too manmade, where they were proudest of larges structures with gleaming lights and cities whose smog hid the bright stars in the sky. 

But Earth—on Earth there were chirping birds and white fluff that fell from the sky and leaves crunching underfoot, and hot, long summer days spent soaking up the light of the yellow sun. On Earth, there was so much  _life_ , so much color, so much beauty, and it was hard not to breathe in the fresh air and feel  _full_.) 

“Something funny?” Lena asked as she walked up to Kara’s bench, the smell of pumpkin spice wafting from her coffee cup, looking awfully content with her large coat and pink cheeks. Without really thinking about it, Kara stuck out her hand expectantly, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, Lena took it as she sat down—their shoulders pressed tightly together and their fingers intertwined. 

(It was new, this casualness to their relationship. They’d started off rocky and unsure, Kara afraid to push too far and Lena pulling back with every two steps forward. 

But then, somewhere down the line, they met halfway.) 

“Yeah,” Kara chuckled, putting her coffee aside and using her free hand to tug on Lena’s coat lapels, “I think it’s funny that you’re so cold. It feels  _great_  out here.” 

“Not all of us were blessed with your DNA,” Lena replied smoothly, moving closer to Kara, likely for the added warmth. “Some people have all the luck.”

“And to think I flew all the way here to visit you,” Kara sighed dramatically, hand over her heart. 

Lena turned her head so that she could give Kara a proper side-eye. 

“Alex called me earlier,” she accused, raising her eyebrows. “You’re avoiding her.”

“What, no I’m not.”

“Is that why you flew to Metropolis, even though you  _knew_  I’d be back later tonight?”

“I missed you, is that really so wrong?” 

“ _Kara_ ,” Lena finally stressed, making Kara fall silent and turn away, if only to avoid Lena’s worried eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

(She didn’t want to say. It had nothing to do with Lena or Alex, or even Maggie, but as Kara thought back on her behavior the night before, the less and less enthused she became at the very idea of a double date. 

Because Winn was  _right_ , even if she hated admitting that. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Alex not getting along with Lena or that she wouldn’t be able to get along with Maggie—she was mostly afraid that the second Lena set eyes on Maggie and vice versa the entire thing would blow up in their faces.

She just wished she knew  _why_  Lena and Maggie didn’t see eye-to-eye—thus far, neither one of them had spilled the secret, making meddling rather difficult.) 

“I might have made a bet with Winn.”

“Really, again? They never turn out great, it usually ends with either you or Winn really drunk or really sad,” Lena said thoughtfully, kissing Kara apologetically on the cheek when her phone dinged, drawing her attention to whatever message Jess or Hector had sent her. 

“Well this time no one will be drunk or sad because it actually involves you, Alex, and Maggie!” Kara said quickly, hoping Lena would be too distracted by her furious typing (obviously unhappy by the news she’d just gotten) to pay Kara any heed. 

Sadly, Lena’s penchant to always be present when they were together shined through, and her thumbs immediately stopped as she turned to Kara with wide, terrified eyes. 

“Sorry, I think I misheard you,” she began slowly, her cheeks still pink though Kara had a feeling that it was for a different reason entirely now—red from anger rather than the chill. 

“Winn insulted your honor,” Kara tried, holding up her free hand in surrender, not liking the way Lena’s eyes narrowed. “He said you and Maggie couldn’t get along. But he’s wrong. He  _is_ ,” she stressed when Lena continued to glare. 

“Maggie and I get along fine,” she said, sounding less than convincing. “We just don’t know each other, that’s all.”

“So a double date is a good idea?”

“A  _what_?” Lena asked, dropping her phone.

Kara grinned weakly and took Lena’s reaction as a resounding maybe. 

 

x

 

She tried to convince herself what she was doing wasn’t creepy, but no matter how many times she closed her eyes and promised that it was for a good cause, she felt terribly creepy regardless. 

What made it worse was that she was sure Maggie had caught on. 

(At least, that was what she hoped the long sighs and the weary glances at the sky meant. Otherwise, she wasn’t quite sure how to feel if she had to break the news to Alex that Maggie had an issue with clouds.) 

It was late when Maggie ducked into an alleyway behind her apartment, leaning against the brick wall of her building and staring up at the night sky.

“Can you stop stalking me and just talk instead, Little Danvers?” Maggie said into the night after a long minute of silence, and Kara smile sheepishly as she gently floated down, leaning against the wall across from Maggie. “You’ve been following me all day,” she accused, staring at Kara with a cross between amusement and confusion. “What’s up?”

“I wasn’t sure how to—”

“—Kara,” she interrupted, sounding less like a cop suddenly and more like a friend—a sister. “You don’t need to break things gently to me, I’m tough, I can handle it. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s you and Lena.”

An uneasy expression flitted over Maggie’s face before she was able to mask it.

“What about me and Luthor?”

“You don’t get along.”

“So? You don’t get along with plenty of people. In fact, just tonight there are plenty of people in lockup who don’t get along with you.” 

“Fine,” Kara admitted, waving off Maggie’s point. “You don’t  _like_  Lena.”

“I like her just fine.”

“Enough to go on a double date?” Kara asked, watching as Maggie visibly blanched. “If this is about the whole arresting her thing, she’s okay with that. She made  _me_  see that you were only doing your job.”

“Kara, that’s not—”

“—then  _what_? What could possibly be so bad that the two of you won’t spend any time in the same room together?”

“Look, Kara,” Maggie began hesitantly, looking around like she was afraid of being overheard or seen, “Luthor and I…we know something about each other that’s—well, it’s not cool. It was a moment of weakness and—”

“Oh Rao, you were  _together_?”

“What? No, of course not!” Maggie all but shouted, pushing against the wall and approaching Kara hurriedly. “No, it’s nothing like that  _at all_ ,” she insisted, sounding sincere. Kara believed her, if only because she seemed so horrified that Kara would immediately jump to  _that_  conclusion. “No, it’s not that,” she repeated, sounding relieved as Kara’s tense shoulders relaxed. “But I can’t tell you. We promised we’d never mention it, but being around her—Kara, you don’t understand, being around her makes it tough not to mention.” 

“You’re right, I don’t understand at all.” 

“Kara—”

“I know Alex told you about the double date, and I know you’ve been trying to avoid it. But you can’t,” Kara stated matter-of-factly, daring for Maggie to argue. “I’ve got a bet riding on this and Lena already agreed. So you’ll be there tomorrow night, and you’re going to be nice to Lena.” 

Maggie’s eyes narrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded.

“Fine, but the second Luthor stops being nice, so will I.” 

Kara didn’t even bother to ask what that meant—Maggie likely wouldn’t answer, and she didn’t think she wanted to know anyway.

 

x

 

The restaurant had gone all out on their ‘fall’ theme, complete with red and orange and yellow décor and the random pumpkin or two in odd corners. Someone had placed Halloween decorations near the bathroom, including a skeleton that popped out at you when you opened the door, something that Kara was sure was a safety hazard. 

She turned slightly in her chair to mention stupid practical jokes and weak human hearts only to stop short when she noticed Maggie and Lena eyeing each other warily from across the table, Alex staring at them both with a fairly perplexed expression. 

“What happened?” Kara mock-whispered, wanting to make light of the whole thing, a little surprised when neither Lena nor Maggie seemed to hear her at all.

“I told Maggie that I checked to make sure there were vegan options for her,” Alex explained slowly, as if unsure what she had seen had really transpired, “and Lena  _laughed_. Loudly, too.”

“Was it a good laugh or a bad laugh?” Kara asked in a real whisper, now relatively sure they were off to a bad start, hating that she’d been so distracted by the skeleton and the carved pumpkins that she missed the entire exchange.

“I couldn’t tell, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Lena laugh like that.” 

Kara filed that information away, intending on getting to the bottom of it later, but before she could mention the skeleton (to break the ice she hoped, somehow anyway), she saw Maggie smile brilliantly at Lena.

“Thought about what you’ll order, Luthor?” she asked, pushing a menu towards Lena with an exaggerated flourish. “Can I suggest something for you?” she asked, pointing towards an item near the bottom that had Kara laughing.

“Chili cheese fries? Lena would never—”

“I’ll get the fries if you get the burger, Sawyer,” Lena said, ignoring Kara entirely.

“Oh, I hear good things about the veggie burger here actually—” Alex tried, only to be cut off as well.

“Look at that,” Lena said with faux surprise, “there’s a burger that’s nearly two pounds of beef! Don’t you want to try that, detective?”

“All right, listen up—” Maggie began, only to be cut off when Kara and Alex stood up in unison, Kara feeling upset that she’d lost the bet, Alex with a soft sigh. “Where are you two going?” 

“Kara and I are going to have a sister night.”

“Right now?” Lena asked incredulously, staring at all their untouched drinks and the waiter who had just come by to take their orders. 

“I hate to admit it, but Winn was right. This was a bad idea,” Kara shrugged. And she didn’t mean to sound so despondent, so  _broken_ , but it came out that way anyway—one big, massive guilt trip. 

It turned out to be a pointless one, though. As she and Alex left the restaurant, Kara could still hear Lena and Maggie bickering over fries and burgers.

 

x

 

She heard them come up the stairs, still arguing, long before they even knocked on her door, but Kara still took her time to get up and answer, hoping to make them sweat it out a little. 

(She wasn’t upset, not really. She was a tiny bit annoyed that she’d lost to Winn and perhaps a little hurt that Lena and Maggie weren’t even bothering to try—or at least explain why they couldn’t get along—but she wasn’t upset. 

And if Alex mentioned that Kara had said that exact phrase one too many times for it to be entirely true…well, Maggie and Lena didn’t need to know that.) 

“Don’t open the door,” Alex shouted from the couch as Kara reached for the door, the bickering behind it going silent, “they’ll just argue again, we  _just_ managed to escape that.” 

“We can’t be  _mean_ ,” Kara mumbled, not quite sure how much she agreed with that statement when she opened the door just to see Lena and Maggie glaring at each other in silence, as if each was daring the other to speak first. With a sigh, Kara turned her head to look at Alex. “We should’ve been mean.” 

“Wait,” Lena said, dragging her eyes away from Maggie and giving Kara the look that always got her to stop whatever she was doing to just  _listen_  to Lena. (It was an unfortunate power Lena held over her, a certain sway she was able to execute with nothing more than her mere presence—be it through a quick call or text while at work or that soft smile sent Kara’s way during evenings huddled together, catching up on television.) “We owe you and Alex an explanation. And as  _embarrassing_  as this will be—”

“—as much grief as we’ll get for it—” Maggie interjected, looking a little bit miserable.

“—as much grief as we’ll get,” Lena agreed, the conciliatory tone enough that Kara smiled widely and moved aside to let Lena and Maggie into the apartment,  “we have to tell you.” 

“You’re getting along  _and_  you brought dinner?” Kara said happily, reaching for the bag in Lena’s hands. “You’re forgiven.”

“No, they’re not,” Alex called. 

Kara steeled herself up once more.

“Right. No, you’re not,” Kara informed Lena and Maggie. She closed the door behind them, watching with amusement as Maggie hesitantly approached Alex, looking a little bit like she was afraid of spooking her girlfriend. 

“The truth is,” Lena began, her eyes only for Kara, “well, the truth is—”

“—I’m not really vegan!” 

Alex sat up ramrod straight, her eyes flashing. 

“What do you  _mean_  you’re not really vegan?” she demanded in a whisper. “We’ve been eating vegan ice cream. I haven’t had eggs for breakfast in ages. You refused to get milk just the other day. Milk!” 

Kara was horrified.

“You haven’t had  _eggs_  for breakfast?” she asked, Alex’s requests for breakfast at odd times during the day suddenly making much more sense. “You haven’t had  _milk_?”

“You’re making this sound worse than it is, Kara,” Maggie muttered, not looking Kara’s way while Lena chuckled. “And you, Luthor, you’re next.” Her words were enough to silence Lena immediately, a curious reaction that had Kara forgetting all about the travesty of no eggs and focus on the strange way Lena’s right eyebrow was moving higher and higher up. “Alex, listen,” Maggie continued, voice soft now, “I do like vegan ice cream. I just do. But you thought that it meant I  _was_  vegan, and you took it so seriously—you made sure every restaurant had vegetarian options, you switched to black coffee because of the lack of milk, and I,” she stopped, wringing her hands a little and giving Alex a pleading look, “and I felt bad. I didn’t know how to explain I just liked the vegan ice cream. I couldn’t say that I liked burgers and eggs and chocolate milk and it became easier to, well, pretend.” 

“So what does that have to do with Lena?” Kara asked, cutting in before Alex could say a word in response. 

“We, well, we ran into each other one afternoon a few months ago,” Lena admitted softly. “All I’d eaten was a kale salad, and I’m only  _human_ , so I went to that diner you like—”

“You went to Charlie’s?” Kara exclaimed, mouth falling open. “You never want to go to Charlie’s, you always say it’s bad for me—”

“—she was chowing down on a plate of chili cheese fries, Kara,” Maggie said happily, apparently glad the focus was off her. “She was sitting in the back, trying to keep hidden—”

“—like you weren’t there to order a burger, Sawyer,” Lena shot back, arms crossed over her chest. “At least I didn’t  _lie_  about being a vegan, I just craved something unhealthy—”

“This entire time,” Alex interrupted, getting to her feet and circling the couch, apparently in a daze, “I thought you two didn’t like each other because of everything that’s happened with Cadmus and Lillian and Maggie wanting to protect aliens. But it turns out you really don’t get along because you caught each other at the same  _diner_?”  

Lena and Maggie didn’t seem to have an answer for Alex, Maggie biting her lip anxiously, Lena staring at the ceiling a little too intently. 

Kara, on the other hand, was thrilled.

“Do you know what this means?” she asked with a wide smile, drawing everyone’s attention. “I won the bet!” 

 

x

 

Kara wasn’t exactly sure how Alex and Maggie made up—though J’onn had made some jokes about having too many eggs for breakfast one morning, which left Alex grumbling—but she forgave Lena for going to Charlie’s without her rather quickly. 

And if that had a little to do with the fact that Lena rolled her eyes and wordlessly accepted the cheeseburger Kara pushed her way instead of the green smoothie and salad Kara usually got her for lunch, well, Lena was only human. She deserved better than kale.


End file.
